Tag Archives: Connecticut Sun

WNBA Today, 09/19/2011: Nightmare series ends for Sun; Lynx pushed to decider

Two more WNBA playoff games, two more teams playing to keep their seasons alive on Sunday in the WNBA. Once again it was time to step up or go home, because in these best-of-three series if you can’t bounce back quickly from a loss, you’re done for.

The proposition was a little different for Connecticut than our three other Game 1 losers. The only team to drop the opening game at home – and that after losing two home games in the entire regular season – the Sun now had to go out and steal a game back in Atlanta. Just like they proved last year, the Dream don’t necessarily need home court advantage to turn teams over, and a low seed couldn’t stop them sweeping through the East and heading to the WNBA Finals in 2010. Now if they could defend their own home court, they’d have an extra couple of days to rest before taking on New York or Indiana.

The same starting fives unsurprisingly remained in place. Atlanta may have made their key fourth quarter run in Game 1 with Angel McCoughtry on the sidelines, but they weren’t about to bench their leading scorer and driving force on the basis of that. The first quarter wasn’t pretty, especially for Connecticut. The very first shot the Sun put in the air was a 17-foot jump shot from Tina Charles, which just perpetuated their central issue from the previous game – their star center taking far too many shots from outside. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s first three shots were all taken by the opposing center – Erika de Souza – and her combined distance from the basket on all three would’ve come nowhere near 17 feet. Get used to me saying this because it was a theme all night – Charles was already settling for shots from too far away from the basket.

Sun coach Mike Thibault recognised how poorly his team had opened the game, calling a timeout down just 4-2 less than two minutes into the game. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/17/2011: Dream steal one on the road; Lynx sneak one at home

After a nailbiter and a blowout opened up the 2011 WNBA playoffs on Thursday, the remaining first round series got underway on Friday night. With the 1-1-1 format that the league switched to last year still in play, defending your home court in the opening game has become vitally important for the higher seed. Lose on your own floor in Game 1, and your opponent has the chance to close out on home territory in Game 2. Indiana and Seattle both pulled off home victories to open their series – could Connecticut and Minnesota do the same?

Heading into their games against Atlanta, the main storylines seemed obvious. Connecticut had to find a way to stop Angel McCoughtry, while the Dream had to stop Tina Charles. If that somehow played out to a tie, then the relative performances of the supporting casts would come into play – but if either managed to take over, their teammates might not matter too much.

Both teams had their expected starting fives on the floor to start the game, a far cry from last year when Atlanta coach Marynell Meadors made heavy changes from her regular lineup for the opening playoff game. After relying heavily on her starting five during a successful second half of the season, there was no way that she would make similar changes this year.

The first half was dominated by the defenses. Continue reading →

WNBAlien Playoff Previews – Eastern Conference Semi-Finals: Connecticut vs. Atlanta

#2 Connecticut Sun (21-13) vs. #3 Atlanta Dream (20-14)

 

Regular season series: Tied 2-2

@ Con. 07/31: Sun 99-92

@ Atl. 08/19: Dream 94-88

@ Con. 08/21: Sun 96-87

@ Atl. 09/06: Dream 85-74

 

This time last season, things were very different for these two teams. Atlanta had just about held on to their playoff spot despite losing six of their last seven games, while Connecticut finished a place below them and missed the playoffs entirely for the second straight season. What a difference a year makes. The further development of Tina Charles, improved health of Asjha Jones and better support from the surrounding pieces has seen a much improved Connecticut team challenge Indiana for the Eastern Conference crown. Meanwhile, after an awful 3-9 start to the season, Atlanta have come charging back into the reckoning led by their own MVP candidate in Angel McCoughtry. After the seasons they’ve had, neither is going to be happy with just making up the numbers in the postseason.

While the matchup wasn’t decided until the final day of the regular season, the home-and-home games that these teams played in mid-August felt like playoff encounters, so it almost seems like this series was destined to happen somewhere along the way. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/12/2011: East finally shakes out as regular season comes to a close

Sunday was the final day of the WNBA regular season, and there were still issues to be decided. Most importantly, the seeding and resulting first-round matchups in the Eastern Conference were still up for grabs, but the remaining games all carried some level of interest. Records were broken, a scoring title was won by the narrowest of margins, and we finally discovered who the hell would be facing whom in the postseason. Not a bad way to finish out the preamble before the real fight begins on Thursday night.

The opening game of the day, tipping off four hours before anyone else, was in Connecticut. Both the Sun and their visitors, New York, had every reason to go all out for the win. A Connecticut victory would confirm them as the #2 seeds, bringing with it the first round home court advantage that was vitally important to a team coming into this game with a 14-2 home record (and just 6-11 on the road). A New York win would’ve given them a chance to sneak into second place as well, although they would then be reliant on Atlanta beating Indiana in the game later in the afternoon. A loss for the Liberty would mean third or fourth, again depending on the later result. Regardless of the winner here, at least one team would be hanging on what happened in Indiana, but ignoring the permutations it was essentially like any other sporting event – win good, loss bad.

After a long ceremony to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, which can’t have helped the concentration levels of the players, the standard starting fives took the floor. Maybe the teams cooled down after such a long gap was created between their warm-up and the tip-off, because the first quarter wasn’t pretty. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/06/2011: Angel complicates matters

Two games in the WNBA tonight: an Eastern fight for playoff position, and a Western battle to simply reach the postseason. I’ve decided that the crunch game out West deserves its own column, so San Antonio’s attempt to seal the final playoff spot and confine LA to the lottery will be covered tomorrow. Here, we look at the latest installment of matchups that attempt to clear up the playoff picture in the East – and usually end up muddying it even further.

Connecticut came into tonight off the back of two blowout wins, and in the knowledge that victory over Atlanta would pull them even with Indiana at the top of the East. This time they’d be level for at least 24 hours, rather than the two hours they managed on Sunday. A win would also have confirmed the Sun as at least the #2 seed in the East, meaning home court advantage in the first round. However, standing in their way was a Dream squad with targets of their own. After a horrible start to the season that’s left them playing catch-up all year long, Atlanta are finally right among the challengers. A win over Connecticut would take them into sole possession of third place, and within one game of the Sun. If Indiana lose their remaining games, there was even still a chance that Atlanta could finish top of the East, which would be remarkable after their 3-9 start. Even ignoring all the mathematics and seeding equations, this game was also about sending a message for both teams. There’s every chance that these two could meet in the playoffs, and their matchups so far this season have been ultra-competitive dogfights. Whoever won the game tonight would add a little edge of confidence for a playoff series that might get underway about a week later.

There was good news on the health front for both teams, as Sancho Lyttle continued to start for Atlanta and Kalana Greene was back in the lineup for Connecticut. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/05/2011: Eastern race takes center stage

So after Saturday took a stab at clearing up the Western Conference playoff picture – and got nowhere – Sunday was the turn of the East. Mathematically Chicago were still in with a chance of making the postseason, but realistically this had already become a fight for seeding. After Connecticut’s blowout win over Indiana on Friday night, the Sun had moved just half a game behind the Fever at the top of the East. New York were only a game further back, and Atlanta a game behind them. With just eight days left in the regular season, practically any final order was still possible, and with all four playing on Sunday any of them could make a move if someone slipped up. At the same time, all four were playing in separate games, so there was potential for the same thing to happen as Saturday – everyone wins, or everyone loses, and the status quo remains. And for the calculator fans out there, yes, the four-way tie is still a possibility.

The first game to tip off was in Atlanta, where Tulsa provided the opposition. After winning 14 of their last 19 games, the Dream may be in fourth place but they’re looking a dangerous threat in the postseason. However, before they became too concerned with seeding, they still needed one more win to officially confirm that they’d seen off Chicago and made the playoffs. A home game against Tulsa seemed like the perfect opportunity. The Shock may have finally won a couple of games, but this is still the weakest team in the league with very little to play for. Pride, and the one extra win necessary to avoid the worst record in WNBA history is about it. That’s a nice team to see on your schedule when you’re looking to clinch a spot in the postseason.

Good news for Atlanta, as center Erika de Souza returned to the starting lineup after missing a couple of games due to an ankle sprain. I guess the walking boot she’d been wearing was largely precautionary. Without wishing to rain on the Dream fans’ parade, however, I do want to mention one potential hitch in Atlanta’s plans for another assault on the playoffs. The FIBA Americas Tournament takes place in Colombia from September 24th to October 1st. This year it isn’t just a continental championship, but also the regional qualifying tournament for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The winner qualifies for the Olympics, and the teams in 2nd/3rd/4th will head to the additional Olympic Qualifying Tournament next year. The dates are right in the middle of the WNBA playoffs, and both de Souza and Iziane Castro Marques are Brazilian. I’ve heard nothing from the players or the Dream about what the plans are, but even if they left at the last possible moment to reach Neiva for the start of the tournament, they’d miss games 2 and 3 of the Conference Finals, and probably game 1 of the WNBA Finals (assuming Atlanta advanced that far). That’s if they’re willing to forgo any preparation time with the Brazilian team whatsoever. So she might be healthy, but the Dream could be losing their starting center sometime soon anyway. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/02/2011: Sun stun Fever, and the triple-double that never was

It was a four-game feature on Friday night for the WNBA this week, but you’re going to have to wait until tomorrow for detailed coverage of three of them. Just for tonight, we’re going to focus on the matchup between the current top two in the East. Indiana started the night at 19-10, 1.5 games clear of tonight’s hosts Connecticut. Having just lost both parts of a home-and-home with Atlanta, the Fever were looking to break their mini losing-streak against another Eastern Conference playoff rival. The Sun had also lost their last two, each by more than 10 points in Tulsa and San Antonio, so they had every reason to respond as well. Indiana have already sealed the tie-breaker between these two teams by virtue of a 3-1 record in previous encounters this season, so Connecticut essentially had to win this game if they wanted to sneak into first place by the end of the regular season. A loss, and the resultant 2.5 game gap, would’ve left Indiana as near-certainties to take home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The game got off to a pretty even start. Connecticut were using their 2-3 zone quite a bit, mixing it in with their standard man-to-man, and they were tipping balls away to create turnovers. But with Katie Douglas knocking down jumpers from outside, the Fever counterbalanced the possessions they were giving away. It was a high-paced game, with Connecticut looking far more comfortable back on their own floor – as is always the case. Home court advantage means so much to the Sun because they’re a vastly better team in the Mohegan Sun Arena, 13-2 this season for the best home record in the WNBA. They like to run whenever it’s available, but especially in front of their own fans. It seems to make a huge difference to their composure and confidence.

The high pace of the game contributed to a high number of turnovers, as both teams gave the ball up a little too cheaply in their efforts to make something happen quickly. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/31/2011: Postseason positioning still a perplexing puzzle

As you near the end of any regular season in a sports league, some games naturally don’t mean an awful lot. The WNBA is no exception, but thanks to tight standings in both conferences most of the teams are still fighting for something as we head into the final two weeks of the season. Still, there are certainly some games that aren’t as important as others right now, so even I’m intending to limit the depth of coverage on certain matchups. Of course, we’ve seen how that’s gone throughout the course of the season, so let’s just be thankful that there aren’t any Tulsa-Washington games left on the schedule. I’d probably have found some reason to write 2,000 words about it.

The key New York-Chicago contest from last night was covered in yesterday’s column, but taking place hot on the heels of that one was Indiana‘s visit to Atlanta. With the tip-offs only 30 minutes apart, Atlanta obviously didn’t know that Chicago would lose to the Liberty and drop two games behind them in the standings, so this was a crucial game for them coming in. Even given that Sky loss, Atlanta’s place in the postseason was hardly a mathematical certainty, so they need to keep fighting for every win they can lay their hands on. The Dream have also been on such a streak lately – 12 wins in 16 games – that they’ve crept up on the other Eastern Conference playoff teams. They entered this game just half a game behind New York, and 2.5 behind Connecticut. Rising above the fourth seed that seemed their highest target a few short weeks ago is no longer beyond the realm of possibility. Indiana have had some troubles lately, losing to LA on the road and then Atlanta on their own floor when these teams met on Saturday. Minnesota are almost out of sight for home court advantage throughout the playoffs, and Connecticut have pulled within 1.5 games for the top spot in the East. More to the point, this Dream squad is a potential first-round playoff matchup for the Fever, and they’d lost both previous games against Atlanta this season. You don’t want to head into a playoff series with a dismal recent record against your opponent.

The starting fives were the same as Saturday, the same as they’ve been for both clubs for a while now. The intriguing aspect of the opening minutes was that Atlanta had clearly come out with an effort to ‘hide’ Angel McCoughtry on defense. She suffered with foul trouble in both of Atlanta’s previous contests with Indiana, and played limited minutes as a result, so the Dream had her on Tangela Smith and Sancho Lyttle stepping out to cover Tamika Catchings. It was a smart move by the Atlanta coaching staff, but not exactly a positive statement about McCoughtry’s ability to play smart or avoid trouble on her own. Considering Angel’s defensive reputation, you shouldn’t have to hide her on a more limited offensive player.

The most positive aspect of the early stages for Indiana was that Katie Douglas looked interested. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/29/2011: Playoff race intensifies with quintuple feature

As the WNBA approached the final two weeks of the regular season, the five-game slate on Sunday carried significant importance for a variety of playoff battles. We’ve got teams fighting for position, teams struggling to even reach the postseason, and one or two still showing enough pride to battle it out for victories when their fates have been sealed for weeks. The final positioning was clear as mud before Sunday, and pretty similar by the end, but for individual teams these games are becoming vitally important to the success – or failure – of their 2011 seasons.

The first game to tip off was in San Antonio, where fans, players and coaches alike must have been growing increasingly worried over recent weeks. Having lost five in a row, and nine of their last eleven, a team that led the Western Conference in the opening weeks of the season is now under threat of missing the playoffs. LA’s loss at home to Tulsa on Friday night had helped them out, and maintained the gap at 1.5 games, but the fear remained. Considering Sunday’s visitors were Minnesota, that fear was well-warranted. Winners of their last four, and 22-6 overall, the Lynx were one game away from officially sealing the top seed in the Western Conference. Three games clear of Indiana, home court advantage throughout the playoffs isn’t far away either. They’re not the team you want to see step off the plane when you’re fighting for your playoff lives.

As ever, the Lynx opened with their typical starting five, while Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes kept faith with his recent lineup starting Danielle Robinson at the point. The rookie speedster has started their last couple of games, and the change has failed to snap their losing skid, but Hughes shows no signs of switching back to veteran Tully Bevilaqua. The scoreline stayed reasonably close throughout the first half, but managed to be simultaneously frightening for the Silver Stars. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/26/2011: Sun a little too hot for the Mercury

Some more split coverage for you with tonight’s action. Four-game fun for Friday in the WNBA, and due to time constraints you’re only receiving a taster tonight. You get the opening game of the evening in this piece, and the anticipation can build until tomorrow for the WNBAlien coverage of the other three. Good things come to those who wait.

The night began in Connecticut, where Phoenix were making their yearly visit. After arresting a brief slide (two consecutive overtime losses barely counts) with a strong win over Atlanta, the Sun are still only two games behind Indiana and retain hopes of catching the Fever to win the East. Their 12-2 record at the Mohegan Sun Arena illustrates just how important home court advantage could be for Connecticut in as many postseason games as possible. The Mercury started this game in the same position as the Sun in the standings – second in their conference – but with different problems. Minnesota are all but confirmed as the #1 seeds in the West, and Seattle have pulled into a virtual tie with Phoenix for second place. It’s looking more and more likely that Storm-Mercury is going to be the 2-3 first-round matchup, but home court advantage is up in the air. An extra game in Seattle’s Key Arena or the US Airways Center in Phoenix could make a huge difference in who progresses.

Significantly improving the Mercury’s chances in this game, Diana Taurasi returned to their starting lineup after missing two games due to back spasms. She also survived a potential suspension for her 7th technical foul, due to one being rescinded earlier in the season. Connecticut remained faithful to their established starting five. The opening quarter was a pure shootout. Phoenix were playing their standard game, charging from one end of the floor to the other and keeping the tempo high, but Connecticut were scoring right along with them. While Taurasi and Penny Taylor rained in shots for the Mercury, no one in a Phoenix vest could guard Tina Charles. When Charles wasn’t scoring herself down low or stepping outside for her reliable mid-range jumper, the amount of attention she drew was breaking everyone else open. Even Kalana Greene knocked down a pair of threes to contribute to the scoring. However, in the end, Connecticut couldn’t quite stay with a smoking hot Mercury team. Continue reading →